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Lauda Air

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Lauda Air
IATA ICAO Call sign
NG LDA LAUDA=Lund
FoundedApril 1979 (1979-04)
Commenced operations1985 (1985)
Ceased operations1 July 2012 (2012-07-01)
(merged into Austrian Airlines)
Operating bases
Frequent-flyer program
AllianceStar Alliance (affiliate; 2000–2013)
SubsidiariesLauda Air Italy (1991–2005)
Parent companyAustrian Airlines Group
HeadquartersSchwechat, Austria
Key people
  • Jaan Albrecht (CEO)
  • Karsten Benz (CCO)
FounderNiki Lauda

Lauda Air Luftfahrt GmbH, branded as Lauda Air, was an Austrian charter airline headquartered at Vienna Airport in Schwechat.[1] It was owned by Niki Lauda (1949–2019) during much of its existence, later becoming a charter airline subsidiary for leisure operations of Austrian Airlines. On 6 April 2013, Lauda Air ceased to exist and was replaced by Austrian myHoliday, a new brand name that is used for flights and leisure offers provided by Austrian Airlines.[2]

History

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Lauda Air flight attendants wearing the airline's trademark denim jeans.

Development as an independent airline

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Lauda Air was established in April 1979 by former Formula One world motor racing champion Niki Lauda with two Fokker F27s. In 1985, ITAS Austria purchased a 49% shareholding. Scheduled services began in 1988. In 1991 the fleet consisted of two Boeing 737-300s, two Boeing 767-300ERs and a Learjet 36.[3][4]

In May 1988, Lauda started its first long-haul flights from Vienna to Sydney and Melbourne via Bangkok.[5][6] In the 1990s, it started to fly its Sydney and Melbourne flights via Kuala Lumpur and Bali. Daily flights to Dubai, Cuba, and Miami via Munich followed.

Merger with Austrian Airlines

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Lauda Air became a wholly owned subsidiary of Austrian Airlines in December 2000 and employed thirty-five people as of March 2007.[4] In 2005 the flight operation merged with Austrian Airlines, and the label "Lauda Air" operated charter flights within the Austrian Airlines Group.

At an AAG board meeting in November 2006, plans were approved to retire the Airbus wide-bodied fleet by mid-2007 and to operate with just a Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 fleet. As a result of subsequent fleet cuts, Austrian Airlines suspended some long-haul services and Lauda Air withdrew from the long-haul charter market over the next year.[7] This led to a refocus on the short/medium-haul market and led to the addition of a 737-800 to take over most of the charter routes. Lauda Air also had an Italian subsidiary, Lauda Air S.p.A.,[8] which ended its operations in 2007.[9]

Lauda Air was officially merged into Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012.[10] All aircraft within the group were transferred to Austrian Airlines on 1 July 2012, to be able to take advantage of Austrian Airlines structure.

The brand was retired at the start of the summer flight schedule on 31 March 2013, and was replaced by "Austrian myHoliday". It is no longer an airline but a branding that is used to sell Austrian Airlines' own leisure offers.[1][2]

Destinations

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Austrian Airlines regularly served, among others, the following destinations under the Lauda Air brand until March 2013:[11]

Former destinations

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The following destinations were served by Lauda Air as an independent airline prior to their merger into Austrian Airlines:

Country City Airport Notes
 Australia Melbourne Melbourne Airport Terminated
Sydney Sydney Airport Terminated
 Austria Graz Graz Airport Focus city
Innsbruck Innsbruck Airport Focus city
Linz Linz Airport Focus city
Salzburg Salzburg Airport
Vienna Vienna Airport Hub
 Brazil Maceió Zumbi dos Palmares International Airport Terminated
 Egypt Hurghada Hurghada International Airport
Luxor Luxor International Airport
Sharm El Sheikh Sharm El Sheikh International Airport
 France Nice Nice Côte d'Azur Airport Terminated
Paris Orly Airport Terminated
 Germany Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Airport Terminated
Frankfurt Frankfurt Airport Terminated
Munich Munich Airport Terminated
 Greece Chania Chania International Airport Seasonal
Corfu Corfu International Airport Seasonal
Heraklion Heraklion International Airport Seasonal
Karpathos Karpathos Island National Airport Seasonal
Kavala Kavala International Airport Seasonal
Kefalonia Kefalonia International Airport Seasonal
Kos Kos International Airport Seasonal
Mykonos Mykonos Airport Seasonal
Mytilene Mytilene International Airport Seasonal
Preveza Aktion National Airport Seasonal
Rhodes Rhodes International Airport Seasonal
Samos Samos International Airport Seasonal
Santorini Santorini (Thira) International Airport Seasonal
Skiathos Skiathos International Airport Seasonal
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Airport Seasonal
Volos Nea Anchialos National Airport Seasonal
Zakynthos Zakynthos International Airport Seasonal
 Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong International Airport Terminated
Kai Tak Airport Airport Closed
 Iceland Reykjavík Keflavik International Airport Seasonal
 Indonesia Denpasar I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport Terminated
 Ireland Dublin Dublin Airport Seasonal
 Italy Cagliari Cagliari Elmas Airport
Catania Catania-Fontanarossa Airport Seasonal
Milan Milan Malpensa Airport Terminated
Naples Naples International Airport Seasonal
Olbia Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport
Rome Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport Terminated
Tortolì Tortolì Airport
 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminated
 Maldives Malé Ibrahim Nasir International Airport Terminated
 Mexico Cancún Cancún International Airport Terminated
 Portugal Faro Faro Airport Seasonal
Funchal Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport Seasonal
Lisbon Lisbon Airport Terminated
 Slovakia Bratislava M. R. Štefánik Airport Terminated
Poprad Poprad–Tatry Airport Terminated
 Spain Barcelona Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport Seasonal
Fuerteventura Fuerteventura Airport
Las Palmas Gran Canaria Airport
Madrid Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport Terminated
Málaga Málaga Airport Seasonal
Lanzarote Lanzarote Airport Seasonal
Tenerife Tenerife South Airport
 Sri Lanka Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport Terminated
 Thailand Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport Terminated
Phuket Phuket International Airport Terminated
 Turkey Antalya Antalya Airport
Bodrum Milas–Bodrum Airport Seasonal
Dalaman Dalaman Airport Seasonal
 United Arab Emirates Dubai Dubai International Airport Terminated
 United Kingdom London Gatwick Airport Terminated
Heathrow Airport Terminated
Manchester Manchester Airport Terminated
 United States Los Angeles Los Angeles International Airport Terminated
Miami Miami International Airport Terminated
 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat International Airport Terminated

Fleet

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Lauda Boeing 737-700
Lauda Boeing 767-300ER in Star Alliance livery
Lauda Boeing 777-200ER

Historic fleet

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Lauda Air's historic fleet included the following aircraft during its existence:[12]

Lauda Air's Historic Fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A320-200 2 2005 2008 Leased from Austrian Airlines.
BAC 1-11-500 2 1985 1986 Leased from TAROM.
Boeing 737-200 1 1985 1988 Leased from Transavia.
Boeing 737-300 2 1988 2005
Boeing 737-400 3 1993 2005
Boeing 737-600 6 2000 2009 Transferred to Austrian Airlines.
Boeing 737-700 2 2001 2010
Boeing 737-800 7 1998 2012
Boeing 767-300ER 1 1989 1991 OE-LAV crashed as Flight 004.
10 2007 Launch customer with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine.
Six transferred to Austrian Airlines.
Boeing 777-200ER 3 1997 2005 Transferred to Austrian Airlines.
Bombardier CRJ-100 10 1994 2004 Relocated to Austrian Arrows.
Fokker F27 Friendship 1985 1994

Lauda Air Executive

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Lauda Air also operated a fleet of three small jets, a Cessna Citation II (9 seats), a Bombardier Lear 60 (7 seats), and a Dassault Falcon 20 (12 seats). These were available for private charter flights.[13]

Incidents and accidents

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Lauda Air suffered one fatal accident during its existence:

References

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  1. ^ a b "Lauda Air on ch-aviation". ch-aviation.
  2. ^ a b Lauda Air; DIE Press; retrieved .
  3. ^ World Airline Directory Flight International 27 March 1991 page 99
  4. ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 105.
  5. ^ Lauda Air to serve Australia Australian Aviation issue 42 January 1988 page 15
  6. ^ Lauda hit by Australian delays Canberra Times 10 May 1988 page 3
  7. ^ Airliner World; January 2007
  8. ^ Lauda Air Annual Report 1995/1996; 24 May 1998 article; Lauda Air; retrieved 6 March 2013.
  9. ^ 9 Fam 41.2 Exhibit III List of Signatory Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Carriers: INA 217(E) Signatory Transportation Lines. U.S. Department of State website; retrieved on 15 February 2013.
  10. ^ "Austrian bids farewell to the 737", Airliner World, p. 6, June 2013
  11. ^ Lauda Air destinations Summer 2011 (.PDF article in German); Lauda Air; auto download.
  12. ^ "Lauda Air Fleet Details and History – Planespotters.net Just Aviation". www.planespotters.net. Archived from the original on 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  13. ^ "Airline memorabilia: Lauda Air (1997)". airline-memorabilia.blogspot.it. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  14. ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
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Media related to Lauda Air at Wikimedia Commons